Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Local Government Act 2002

Regulations, other Orders in Council, and rules - Regulations

259: Regulations

You could also call this:

“Rules the government can make to help run local areas”

The Governor-General can make rules called regulations based on what the Minister recommends. These regulations can do several things:

  1. They can say which actions that break local laws are considered offences.

  2. They can set fines up to $1,000 for these offences.

  3. They can create forms for notices about these offences.

  4. They can make forms for votes about changing how local areas are organised, and for other things needed in this law.

  5. They can say what information needs to be in financial reports and how it should be shown.

  6. They can create forms for showing how money will be used in long-term plans, yearly plans, and yearly reports.

  7. They can set guidelines for checking if a local council is using its money wisely.

  8. They can say how local councils should show their planned and actual performance in their plans and reports.

  9. They can set rules about how to ask for changes to development fees or object to them.

  10. They can set rules for how objections to development fees are heard and decided.

  11. They can cover any other things needed to make this law work properly.

The regulations can give more details about what needs to be in reports about how money will be used. They can set guidelines in different ways, like using fixed numbers or ratios. They can also have different rules for different types of local councils.

Before recommending rules about checking if councils use money wisely, the Minister must talk to the New Zealand Local Government Association.

These regulations are a type of law that must be published according to the rules in Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM174083.

Topics:
Government and voting > Local councils
Money and consumer rights > Taxes
Previous

258ZA: Decisions and directions of Crown Manager or Commission remain in force until local authority decides otherwise, or

“Crown Manager or Commission decisions stay until the council changes them”

Next

259A: Levy to fund rules for performance measures, or

“Councils may need to pay a fee to help make rules about how well they're doing their job”

Part 11 Regulations, other Orders in Council, and rules
Regulations

259Regulations

  1. The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations for 1 or more of the following purposes:

  2. prescribing breaches of bylaws that are infringement offences under this Act:
    1. prescribing infringement fees (not exceeding $1,000) for infringement offences:
      1. prescribing infringement notice forms:
        1. prescribing forms to be used—
          1. in polls in relation to reorganisation plans under Schedule 3:
            1. for any other matter for which forms are required under this Act:
            2. prescribing matters, not inconsistent with generally accepted accounting practice, that must be specified in a financial statement and the manner in which they must be specified:
              1. prescribing forms for the funding impact statements to be included in the long-term plan, annual plan, and annual report:
                1. prescribing parameters or benchmarks for assessing whether a local authority is prudently managing its revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities, investments, and general financial dealings:
                  1. prescribing the manner in which a local authority must disclose, in 1 or more of its long-term plan, annual plan, and annual report,—
                    1. the planned performance of the local authority against parameters and benchmarks prescribed in regulations made under paragraph (dc):
                      1. the actual performance of the local authority against parameters and benchmarks prescribed in regulations made under paragraph (dc):
                      2. prescribing the form or content of applications, notices, or any other documentation or information relating to the reconsideration of requirements for development contributions or to development contribution objections, and the manner in which any document or information is to be made available or provided:
                        1. prescribing, in addition to any matters prescribed under paragraph (e), the practice and procedure for hearing and deciding development contribution objections:
                          1. providing for any matters that are contemplated by this Act, necessary for giving it full effect, or necessary for its due administration.

                            1. Regulations made under subsection (1)(db) may specify in greater detail the information required to be included in a funding impact statement by Schedule 10.

                            2. Regulations made under subsection (1)(dc) may—

                            3. prescribe parameters or benchmarks in any manner, including by—
                              1. reference to fixed terms (for example, the debt of a local authority in a financial year, generally, should not exceed a fixed sum per resident):
                                1. the use of ratios, factors, or other relative terms (for example, the expenditure of a local authority in a financial year, generally, should not increase by more than the ratio of population growth multiplied by the rate of increase of the Consumers Price Index (all groups) or, if that index ceases to be published, any measure certified by the Government Statistician as being equivalent to that index) :
                                  1. reference to circumstances, statistics, or other publicly available information, whether only concerning local authorities and their districts and regions or otherwise; and
                                  2. prescribe parameters or benchmarks in a way that differentiates between different types or classes of local authority (for example, regional councils, territorial authorities, and local authorities with a population, assets, or an average income of its population over or under a specified figure); and
                                    1. prescribe parameters or benchmarks in a way that includes or excludes subsidiaries, including council-controlled organisations, council-controlled trading organisations, and council organisations, of a local authority.

                                      1. The Minister may recommend the making of regulations under subsection (1)(dc) only if the content of the recommendation has been developed in consultation with the New Zealand Local Government Association Incorporated.

                                      2. Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

                                      Compare
                                      Notes
                                      • Section 259(1)(d)(i): replaced, on , by section 32(1) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 93).
                                      • Section 259(1)(d)(i): amended, on , by section 29 of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 54).
                                      • Section 259(1)(da): inserted, on , by section 39(1) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 124).
                                      • Section 259(1)(db): inserted, on , by section 39(1) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 124).
                                      • Section 259(1)(dc): inserted, on , by section 32(2) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 93).
                                      • Section 259(1)(dd): inserted, on , by section 32(2) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 93).
                                      • Section 259(1)(e): replaced, on , by section 67 of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 55).
                                      • Section 259(1)(f): inserted, on , by section 67 of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 55).
                                      • Section 259(1)(g): inserted, on , by section 67 of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 55).
                                      • Section 259(2): added, on , by section 39(2) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 124).
                                      • Section 259(3): inserted, on , by section 32(3) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 93).
                                      • Section 259(3)(a)(ii): amended, on , by section 107(1) of the Data and Statistics Act 2022 (2022 No 39).
                                      • Section 259(4): inserted, on , by section 32(3) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 93).
                                      • Section 259(5): inserted, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).